May 2, 2019

ATTENTION ALL NDE PORTAL USERS:

Please log onto your portal accounts and go to the “My Profile” tab and check to make sure your contact information (especially the email address) is up to date. It is very important to keep this information updated as the Department of Education uses the email address that is in the users’ Portal account to send vital information. Thank you!!

The 2017-2018 Post School Survey collection is a standalone collection for this year only. The collection can be found in the NDE Portal under the Data Collections tab. An activation code is required to add the collection to an NDE Portal account. This collection replaces the file upload process that was previously submitted in the NSSRS Data Manager.

Districts will use the same file format that has been used in past years and upload that file in this collection. The Post School Survey template is submitted during the 2018-2019 School Year for the 2017-2018 Career Education Concentrator graduates. The report of the students that should be included in this template is located in the NSSRS Validations for 2017-2018. The report is located in the Verification Reports for Student under the Career Education section; Post School Survey – Completers with Diploma.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an evidence-based classroom management strategy that teachers use to help students develop skills, including teamwork and self-regulation. Long-term benefits include pro-socialization effects such as reducing violent and aggressive behaviors, bullying, substance abuse, and suicide ideation or attempts.

GBG is implemented in elementary classrooms, and, as a strategy rather than a curriculum, it aligns well with positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) systems. Students work individually or in groups on a task or activity in any content area.

Per NDE Rule 1 Section 003.03B4 and NDE Rule 2 Section 006.02B, school districts are required to maintain cumulative attendance and membership records for all students. NDE is revising guidance on reporting student attendance in the ADVISER data system. Upon further review, it was determined this information is required for the following: 1.) all K-12 students during the regular school year, and 2.) all students in Early Childhood programs with program codes 01 – 05. NDE will update the Who Reports What document to reflect this information. In the meantime, please do the best you can for reporting 2018-2019 calendar and attendance data. Review the Calendar Details, Student Attendance Summary, and ADA/ADM verification reports in the ADVISER Validation website to ensure students are being reported correctly.

As a reminder, under ADVISER the Days in Session count for each student is determined by looking at the calendar track the student is assigned to and summing up the number of in-session days reported under that track. Only in-session days that are between the student’s enrollment entry and exit dates are counted. A student is automatically assumed to be present for all in-session days reported in their calendar track, unless an absence is reported. The number of Days Present for a student is found by summing their Days in Session from their calendar track and subtracting the absences reported for the student. The Average Daily Membership calculation aggregates the Days in Session numbers for all students, with each student’s numbers being weighted according to their FTE. The Average Daily Attendance is the same calculation performed using the Days Present numbers.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requires an employee whose salary and wages are supported, in whole or in part, with Federal funds to document his/her time spent working on Federal programs in order to ensure charges to each Federal program reflect an accurate account of the employee’s time and effort devoted to that program. The CFR addresses two types of documentation: semiannual certifications and personnel activity reports.

All Federal grants (IDEA, Title, Perkins, Homeless, Migrant, Early Childhood, etc.) that claim salaries/wages for reimbursement are required to have time and effort logs with their final submission. Failure to comply with this regulation is non-compliance with Federal grant requirements and can result in the funding required to be returned. When the school districts and ESU’s applied for these funds you also agreed to comply with the Federal regulations that goes with these types of funds.

Time and Effort logs must be supported with the NSSRS Staff Reporting system using the appropriate instructional SPI Code-Position Assignment. The deadline for the updating the NSSRS Staff Reporting system is June 30.

It is the policy of the Nebraska Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of sex, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, or genetic information in its educational programs, admission policies, employment, or other agency programs.